Plain English Breakdown
The official text specifies that rate filing rules apply specifically to 'grandfathered individual and specified group health insurance policies,' which is narrower than the candidate's general reference to all student coverage.
Student Health Insurance Changes
This law lets students end their school health insurance if they graduate, take a leave, or stop attending; requires schools to grant waivers for other qualifying coverage without fees; and gives the Department of Insurance power to block rate hikes from late filings.
What This Bill Does
- Allows students to request ending their student health insurance during a policy year if they graduate, take a leave of absence, or stop attending school.
- Requires students to give at least 30 days' notice before coverage ends and limits premiums owed only through the termination date.
- Mandates that schools grant waivers from student health insurance if a student has minimum essential coverage.
- Prohibits charging fees or premiums when a waiver is granted based on having outside coverage.
- Gives the Department of Insurance authority to block rate increases if insurers miss filing deadlines for grandfathered policies.
- Sets maximum fines at $5,000 per violation and $10,000 for willful violations.
Who It Names or Affects
- Students enrolled in institutions of higher education
- Institutions of higher education that offer student health insurance
- Health insurers providing grandfathered individual or specified group policies
- The Department of Insurance and the Insurance Commissioner
Terms To Know
- Minimum essential coverage
- A type of health insurance that meets federal standards, such as plans from Covered California, Medi-Cal, or a parent's plan.
- Waiver
- An official permission to skip the school's required student health insurance because you have other qualifying coverage.
- Policy year
- The 12-month period during which an insurance plan is active and in effect.
Limits and Unknowns
- These new rules take effect on July 1, 2026.
- The law states the Legislature's intent to encourage University of California self-funded plans to follow these standards but does not explicitly force them if they are self-funded.